Green Fleet

South Dakota Fleet Consumed 2M Gallons of Ethanol Last Year

About 65% of the South Dakota Fleet and Travel Management Division's fleet consists of flex-fuel vehicles.

Photo courtesy of State of South Dakota

The State of South Dakota’s vehicle fleet consumed nearly 2 million gallons of ethanol-blended fuels — including E-10, E-30, and E-85 — between mid-May 2017 and mid-May 2018, according to the South Dakota Bureau of Administration.

South Dakota's Division of Fleet and Travel Management (FTM) is composed of 3,987 vehicles that are either assigned (to an agency or employee) or pooled for employees to use for official government purposes. About 65% of the fleet consists of flex-fuel vehicles, or 2,578 passenger cars and vans, SUVs, and light-duty pickups. In addition, some FTM vehicles that are not flex-fuel use E-10.

Between May 2017 and May 2018, FTM's flex-fuel vehicles consumed 1.9 million gallons of blended ethanol. In total, the fleet utilized nearly 2.5 million gallons of blended ethanol.

“We have been increasing the number of flex-fuel vehicles we purchase each year,” said Bureau of Administration Commissioner Scott Bollinger. “As older vehicles wear out, we look to replace them with flex-fuel models.”

Ethanol is available at 95 of the state’s fueling sites.

Photo courtesy of State of South Dakota

Ethanol is available at 95 of the state’s fueling sites. FTM has installed E-30 pumps at three of the state’s largest fueling sites in Sioux Falls, Pierre, and Brookings. Recent decreases in ethanol prices have made E-30 a viable cost-savings option.

The FTM fleet, which does not include heavy-duty vehicles (managed by the Department of Transportation) or law enforcement vehicles (managed by the Highway Patrol), traveled an annual average of 38 million miles over the past four years. FTM does not use any other alternative fuels, though the Department of Transportaiton uses B5 biodiesel in its maintenance vehicles.

Many industries are making it a priority to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as national standards and public expectations continue to change. The work truck industry is among those most affected by this push.